for sojourners and exiles, dearly beloved (1 Pet. 2:11)

Musings on the New Perspectives

So I’ve been reading Dr. Fesko’s book, Justification: Understanding the Classic Reformed Doctrine, which has sparked some thoughts regarding the New Perspectives on Paul.

It seems like one of the ideas that is put forward (by the NPP) is that the Second Temple Judaizers weren’t too keen on legalistic righteousness. They would never dream of thinking they could obey the whole Torah, let alone earn meritorious righteousness before God by law keeping. Rather, they merely saw several key laws that served as boundary markers between them and non-Jews. And although it may be hard to determine exactly what they had in mind (Qumran writings may indicate considerable law-keeping was required), one might be able to boil things down to three major categories: Sabbath, circumcision, and dietary restrictions.

So, as N.T. Wright points out, perfect law keeping was never in view. Besides, there was the whole sacrificial system to deal with sins. Rather, they wanted to look to certain particular laws or regulations as boundary markers which they could hang their hat on and say, “look, I’m in the community, you gentile Christians aren’t.”

Now, this context actually works — as far as it goes. It seems reasonable (from reading Paul) that something like this was certainly going on. But what comes to my mind is how clearly and forcibly Paul refutes this notion of the Jews, not by merely correcting their misidentification of the proper boundary markers (which they certainly got wrong), but by insisting that those who wanted to “keep Torah” were obligated to keep it all! They didn’t think they had to keep the whole law, and Paul slams them for it!

Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? (Gal. 3:21)

I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. (Gal. 5:3 ESV)

This right here, I think, provides a hurdle for the notion that “boundary markers” were all that was in view (at least in the mind of Paul).

And then Paul criticizes the Jews’ duplicity:

For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. (Gal. 6:13)

If “keeping the law” meant merely circumcision, are we to take it (as the NPP would have us) that not even those who were physically circumcised were physically circumcised?

As Andrew Das points out,

When Paul uses the phrase ‘works of the law’ in Gal. 3:10 and cites Deut. 27:26 (in a composite quote drawing on other statements in Deut. 27-30), the Deuteronomy context indicates that Paul has in mind the law in its entirety including even actions done in private.” – Paul, the Law, and the Covenant, quotedinFesko’s ‘Justification: Understanding the Classic Reformed Doctrine, p. 177.

Interestingly, the Apostle James has something similar to say about keeping the law:

For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. (Jas. 2:10, emphasis mine)

Furthermore, most of Romans 2 Paul is trashing any notion that the Jews could hide against certain legalities (e.g. circumcision), in order to distinguish themselves from others before God.

For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. (Rom. 2:25-27)

So there is a profound sense in which it wasn’t just about circumcision or keeping kosher that Paul had problems with! It wasn’t that the Jews merely got the wrong boundary markers. Their problem was they didn’t realize that the whole law stood condemning them in the face. And there they were holding on to vestiges of the Mosaic order, as if by these ordinances they would be vindicated. Like grabbing the handrail of a sinking ship, their spiritually blind groping for badges of distinction only added insult to injury.

The point is, even if these were the right boundary markers, they were going about it all wrong. How wrong, one might ask?

You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. (Gal 5:4)

This was serious error. Indeed, total doctrinal apostasy — Paul laying on them the anathema for denying Christ. And one might wonder: How did they go from incorrect boundary markers to denying Christ? To understand this, we must recognize that there were more than mere socio-eclesial issues that Paul was concerned about. The Judaizers’ problem was one of soteriology as well. Failing to recognize the full weight of the law and its condemnation of all sins (individual and corporate) they failed to see that they were all condemned! They failed to reckon with the idea that even the most meticulous, sabbath-keeping, Hebrew of Hebrews (as Paul identifies himself) stood condemned before the law. They were like, “Huh?” “Me?” “Condemned by the law?” “You gotta be kidding me.” “I’m a Jew.” And Paul responded, “So?” “Do you keep the law perfectly?” “No?” “Then you already stand judged and condemned by the law. The law can help you no longer. It only helps righteous people. And you’re not righteous.”

But since they had a low view of the law and its total and rigorous requirements, they still wanted to be under the law. One can easily see then why they failed to see the importance of the work of Christ.

The law could never save them. It was never intended to. Even circumcision was meant not merely to separate them from the rest of the world, but also to point them to Christ. But due to their spiritual hardness of heart, he was the very one they denied.

They had the Gospel (even in circumcision) but failed to distinguish it from the law. Thus they couldn’t distinguish the finished work of Christ from their own works of law-keeping. And this is how they had “fallen away from grace.”

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2 Responses

Good thoughts, Brenden. This issue is so vital today as you know. It is interesting to see Wright discuss this issue as if the thing condemned was so minimal as ‘boundary markers’. While it is true that the Jewish people had less of theological, forensic view of soteriology as such, this by no means prevents Paul from taking on such notions.

Interestingly, Everett Ferguson talks about the Second Temple Period as united around such boundary markers and orthopraxy, rather than a theological orthodoxy. This is striking when Paul takes the Judaizers to task in such a manner; for it would seem then they would have not even been thinking in such theological terms as you have discussed.

Wright doesn’t understand that he is rehashing the EXACT same arguments as the Roman Apollogists did in the Reformation and Counter-Reformation Tridentine eras. That is how they countered the Reformed and Lutheran writers, oddly enough.

Such a lack of knowledge of historical theology of the Reformed orthodox has led Wright to such errors without knowing his perspective is not new nor Protestant. He may have read Calvin but he hasn’t read Turretin.

Brenden,
It’s misconceptions like this that make you wonder if the NPP will end up resulting into another lost cause in New Testament Studies. Keep up the good work, I found this post extremely edifying! The fact that you are able to notice where they fall short in their interpretation of Paul helps me realize just how reductionistic their conception of soteriology is. Many modern day evangelicals may operate under an under-realized ecclesiology, the NPP operates under an under-realized soteriology.